Highway 522 crash victims identified as Redmond couple

MALTBY — The two people killed in Monday’s head-on crash on Highway 522 have been identified as a Redmond couple in their 70s.

Joan S. Kinger, 76, died at the scene. She was a passenger in a 2007 Ford Fusion. The driver, Stanley Kinger, 79, was transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where he also died.

The other driver, 24, was listed in serious condition in intensive care at Harborview on Tuesday. His passenger, a 1-year-old girl, was listed in critical condition in intensive care. Both were listed as living in Monroe, according to a Washington State Patrol accident memo.

The two-car collision occurred around 3:20 p.m. Monday east of Fales Road. A stretch of the highway was closed for about three hours while officers investigated.

The crash involved the Ford Fusion and a Mitsubishi Eclipse.

Troopers believe that the driver of the Mitsubishi was heading east and crossed over onto the westbound shoulder. The Mitsubishi hit a traffic barrel that was in some grass beyond the shoulder. The driver overcorrected before crashing head-on into the other car.

Drugs and alcohol are not believed to be factors in the crash, the State Patrol memo said.

They also have ruled out the driver being distracted by texting or cellphone use.

It is too early to know what caused the car to cross over.

“We still need to talk to him,” trooper Keith Leary said. “It’s still an unknown. It’s still under investigation.”

Traffic barrels are used to shut down lanes. No construction was going on in the immediate area. The only construction happening was at the Snohomish River Bridge project well east of where the crash happened, Leary said.